Western Flyer

You can expect your TOM BIHN bag to give you years of hard service. Our bags are guaranteed to be free from defects in materials and workmanship for the life of the bag. That means if something goes wrong and it's our fault, we'll fix it at no charge.

Same with your Skookum Dog gear: it'll give you years of hard service and is guaranteed to be free of defects in materials or workmanship. If something goes wrong and it's our fault, we'll fix it at no charge. If your dog chews something up or otherwise damages it, we'll repair it for a reasonable fee if it is repairable.

The smallest of our main carry-on travel bag options for short trips or uber-minimalist packers.

The Western Flyer might just be the ultimate overnight bag: classic lines, well-thought-out features, three comfortable carrying methods to choose among, zip-away backpack straps, and, of course, the materials and construction you've come to expect from TOM BIHN.

It's also the smallest of our four main carry-on travel bags. The Tri-Star is larger than the Western Flyer or the Aeronaut 30, and the Aeronaut 45 is largest of them all. You might also check out our personal carry-on size bags -- Co-Pilot, Pilot, and Stowaway -- as they pair well with the Western Flyer. Or, if you're a truly minimalist traveler, you could even use the Co-Pilot, Pilot, or Stowaway as your one travel bag; all three meet U.S. and international carry-on sizing requirements and fit in the overhead compartment of CRJ commuter planes. But we digress...

The Western Flyer has two main compartments of equal size. The front compartment has a vertical divider that zips out of the way if it's not wanted. Available for purchase separately are three sizes of Packing Cubes designed especially for the main compartments of the Western Flyer. Also available are the Packing Cube Backpack (Tri-Star/Western Flyer) and Packing Cube Shoulder Bag. Either half of the divided front compartment can fit a pair of shoes — Tom's (he wears size 12) personal Holy Grail in any travel bag. (You may want to first put your shoes in an All Fabric Packing Cube or a plastic bag.) The back compartment is large and undivided, and it's an ideal place to secure our Cache laptop sleeve. The Cache is available in sizes specifically for every Apple laptop and iPad; PC users, click here for our Laptop Bag Fit Guide.

For access to all things small-and-easily-lost, the front of the Western Flyer features three zippered pockets, all with #8 YKK Aquaguard® water-repellent zippers (cord pulls are included at no charge). On the right is a subtle-but-clever curved zipper pocket: unzip it partially and it's a useful pocket for a boarding pass. Unzipped entirely, it's an expandable water bottle pocket. The bellows that make the pocket expandable can be snapped up so your water bottle doesn't fall out; unsnap them for greater access to the pocket.

On the left side are two horizontal zippered pockets. The top zippered pocket spans the full height of the bag; the second goes about halfway. Both horizontal zippered pockets have O-rings inside. To one of these O-rings, an included 8" Key Strap is attached, useful for tethering and keeping track of your keys, pocket watch, Swiss Army knife, or other small item.

A comfortable, padded handle sits directly above the center of gravity for a more balanced, comfortable carry. Two padded grab handles on the short ends facilitate pulling the bag out from the overhead compartment or a locker, or from under a seat.

The Western Flyer features comfortable hide-away backpack straps. For longer sprints through the airport or across town, the backpack straps (same as those on our Aeronaut and Tri-Star convertible carry-on travel bags) are comfortable and help one carry a heavy load more easily. The padded, contoured shoulder straps feature a removable/adjustable sternum strap and can be tucked away in their own compartment when not in use. (The sternum strap is included. Add a waist strap for $10.) Or, you can opt to carry the bag on your shoulder: two D rings accept our Absolute Shoulder Strap (almost anyone else's shoulder strap will work too).

The Western Flyer is made with an exterior of our U.S. made, 1050 denier, high tenacity ballistic nylon: twice the abrasion resistance of 1680 denier fabric. It's lined with our ultralight, super-tough, 200 denier Japanese Halcyon/nylon ripstop fabric; a #10 YKK Aquaguard® water-repellent zipper with lockable sliders closes the main compartment.

Take a trip: buy this bag and get out of here!

Choosing an Exterior Fabric

You like choices and we like to give you choices! That's why the Western Flyer is typically available* in two different exterior fabrics. Our Materials Glossary explains each fabric in great detail, but here are some quick facts that may help you decide which to choose. And we're always here if you have questions: emailus@tombihn.com

You want a super-tough fabric – originally designed for use in bullet-proof vests.

The weight of your bag isn’t a huge concern (though it’s worth noting that 1050d Ballistic is still lighter than cotton canvas or leather).

You want a smooth surface that won’t collect pet hair or sweater fuzz, slides easily into and out of the overhead bin, and fits in whether you're traveling for work or leisure.

*There may be times when one of the exterior fabrics mentioned here isn't available. Even with our best efforts, the demand for our bags occasionally outpaces our production capabilities: at times, some products, color combinations, or fabrics might be temporarily unavailable or "In Production." See the In Production color combinations as a guide to what our factory crew is making and what will be available next.

Laptop Fit Guide

1. Measure Your Laptop

Measure your laptop (or Google its make, model,
and the word “dimensions” to find its listed dimensions).
Compare its measurements with the chart to the left
(swap the Height and Width when measuring for a
Vertical oriented Cache).

2. Compare Those Measurements To These

Cache

Size

Interior Width

Interior Height

Interior Thickness

08A (iPad Mini)

7.76" / 197mm

5.08" / 129mm

0.31-0.78" / 8-20mm

10A (10.5" iPad Pro)

9.76" / 248mm

6.61" / 168mm

0.31-0.78" / 8-20mm

10B (iPad or 9.7" iPad Pro)

9.33" / 237mm

6.46" / 164mm

0.31-0.78" / 8-20mm

11A (11" iPad Pro)

9.87" / 250mm

7.25" / 184mm

0.31-0.78" / 8-20mm

12A (12" Macbook)

10.94" / 278mm

7.51" / 191mm

0.31-0.78" / 8-20mm

13A (13" Macbook Air)

12.87" / 327mm

8.74" / 222mm

0.39-1.00" / 10-25mm

13B (Some 13" PCs)

12.56" / 319mm

8.03" / 204mm

0.39-1.00" / 10-25mm

13C (pre-2017 13" Macbook Pro)

12.24" / 311mm

8.90" / 226mm

0.39-1.00" / 10-25mm

13D (13" Macbook Pro Touchbar or 13” Air Retina)

11.97" / 304mm

8.11" / 206mm

0.39-1.00" / 10-25mm

13E (11" Macbook Air)

11.89" / 302mm

7.44" / 189mm

0.39-1.00" / 10-25mm

15A (Some 15" PCs)

15.24" / 387mm

10.67" / 271mm

0.39-1.10" / 10-28mm

15B (Some 15" PCs)

14.92" / 379mm

9.76" / 248mm

0.39-1.00" / 10-25mm

15D (15" Macbook Pro Touchbar)

13.62" / 346mm

9.21" / 234mm

0.39-1.00" / 10-25mm

Build your own organization

your bag already has great built-in organization. that said, you may want to add these optional organizational accessories to further organize and protect what you carry.

Adds eleven pockets of organization to the Western Flyer — four pen/pencil pockets, two flat zippered pockets, two large open top pockets for file folders, two wallet or phone sized pockets and one credit card sized pocket.

The Absolute Shoulder Strap has a unique, patented, internal control-stretch system that's a lifesaver when carrying a heavy bag. It's the ideal strap for those who carry hefty loads or simply want the most comfortable strap available.

Our Travel Stuff Sacks serve a variety of purposes: they stow and compress items like down/polyfill jackets and vests (constraining them to a smaller amount of space) and some folks prefer to use them for packing clothing that doesn't need to be folded, like underwear — we don't fold our underwear — do you? (On second thought, let's not go there.)

Our Whistle Sternum Strap Half features a nearly impossible-to-lose whistle integrated into the male (usually the left) half of the sternum strap buckle. It replaces the male half of the sternum strap included with your Western Flyer.

Lifetime Guarantee

You can expect your TOM BIHN bag to give you years of hard service. Our bags are guaranteed to be free from defects in materials and workmanship for the life of the bag. That means if something goes wrong and it's our fault, we'll fix it at no charge.

Defects in materials or workmanship are uncommon and are most often evident while your bag is still new. Keep in mind that daypacks and briefcases are often subject to serious wear in everyday use. We often see TOM BIHN bags that are still solid and in use after five, ten, fifteen, even twenty or twenty-five years, with minor repairs needed here or there. But remember: only true love lasts forever.